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The Basil Blog

mythic55

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That to me looks younger than 12. Its just my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt. He could just be a slow developer, more reason to give him formula as long as he wants.

Im looking at the feathers- ekkies are unbarred, so the way they lay can be very telling. Also the beak coloration. At 16 weeks is when I consider them potentially weaned, seems like a short time, but ever bird is unique. But I always look for beak coloration, at 12w im looking for 1/2 the beak candy corn colored. At 16 weeks, I look for 2/3 candy corn.
 

Miss Annamarie

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305g after breakfast
Not in a super good mood today and kind of beaky, wants to be alone
Today besides his bowl of fruit, I pureed a bunch of it and added a little formula to handfeed him instead of just water.
 

mythic55

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Its good that weight is picking up.
Just note: Formula should be full strength, not diluted with any fruit, etc. :heart:
 

mythic55

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Sorry I missed this, crazy day.
Better to not supplement the water.

All formula is powdered. Make sure to heat water to 120... let cool to 105 preferably.
 

Miss Annamarie

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How is he doing?
There hasn't been too much new to report but he's been a lot more active lately! He's been mimicking our other birds.

He's not really gaining that much weight which I'm worried about. He's still usually 300-310 after dinner. Should I be waking him up in the middle of the night to feed him again?

He's been leaving his cage a lot more without us taking him out, he babbles constantly and it's so sweet. He really likes papaya!
 

mythic55

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Call your breeder back- ask them HONESTLY how old you baby was and which formula they fed him IMO.
 

Miss Annamarie

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Call your breeder back- ask them HONESTLY how old you baby was and which formula they fed him IMO.
I've asked them and I give him the one they do, I know he is the age because they are VERY reputable and they sent me pictures a couple times a day. I could tell it was the same bird.
 

mythic55

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Which formula is it? what is the brand?
I know breeders that feed Kaytee macaw- NOT good. So determining the formula might give light on the sale of an unweaned bird being sold to a nice young lady. If you 100% trust the breeder (I know of most of them?) Then baby is under developed (that is for sure), so hand feeding might be necessary, but the right formula might be pivitol as many eclectus get off to a bad start and unfortunately pass away around the 1.5 yr mark.

(im writing on my mobile, I blame my phone for any errors;)

(I aplogized if I missed the name of your breeder and brand of formula. Eclectus community is very tightly knit, but I just recently got on this forum to discuss anything)
 

Miss Annamarie

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Which formula is it? what is the brand?
I know breeders that feed Kaytee macaw- NOT good. So determining the formula might give light on the sale of an unweaned bird being sold to a nice young lady. If you 100% trust the breeder (I know of most of them?) Then baby is under developed (that is for sure), so hand feeding might be necessary, but the right formula might be pivitol as many eclectus get off to a bad start and unfortunately pass away around the 1.5 yr mark.

(im writing on my mobile, I blame my phone for any errors;)

(I aplogized if I missed the name of your breeder and brand of formula. Eclectus community is very tightly knit, but I just recently got on this forum to discuss anything)
They use roudybush and Kaytee Exact, it's JC Aviary
 

Les charlson

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Kind of panicking a smidge.
Hi. Just a thought. If he is more active he may be just using more calories. He will develop muscle but its still early days in his flying etc. Don't panic. All birds are different, just like us. Some taller, some wider. If you are feeding the correct amount of baby food and he is trying other foods then you are ok. I would be more worried if he is lethargic.
Don't wake him however you could try feeding an extra spoonful here and there. How is he going with solids? Have you worked out some favourites yet?
 

Miss Annamarie

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Hi. Just a thought. If he is more active he may be just using more calories. He will develop muscle but its still early days in his flying etc. Don't panic. All birds are different, just like us. Some taller, some wider. If you are feeding the correct amount of baby food and he is trying other foods then you are ok. I would be more worried if he is lethargic.
Don't wake him however you could try feeding an extra spoonful here and there. How is he going with solids? Have you worked out some favourites yet?
Yes! His main favourite fruit is mangos and blueberries! Thank you for the reassurance, my anxiety was zooming.
 

mythic55

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@Miss Annamarie

Make sure to weigh your baby in the morning before breakfast after the first BM.
I never trust bird brokers like JC- I just enjoy the one on one with a breeder that I can trust and have legal backing if something goes wrong (Im definately not a type for forgiveness when people are knowingly irresponsible). I would put serious money on his age (ill get some photos together to prove it to you from my network, telling ekkies age when young is actually pretty easy- might be worth posting as a sticky section).

Keep up what you are doing, but watch the weight. Offer as much variety as possible, as often as possible :)
 

Les charlson

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I think it is better to be a concerned about our birds rather than not be worried at all. You are doing the best you can. I am not an expert, as I have said, so I can't say for sure if your boy is a bit younger than you were led to believe or not. I can only go on what I am seeing and your description.
I have come across babies that were younger than they were thought. Breeders can mistake which baby is which, when they take them to hand raise. Its not a common occurrence but I have seen it. Strange things do happen.
My advice is centred around what you need to do, now that you have him. I agreed with mythic55 that he does need baby food. Taking him back to demand feeding makes sense. He needs it, due to his age, what his little system can process or perhaps he is mentally not ready. All are good reasons to give him a helping hand.
Some say its part of weaning to let them beg to be fed and not comply. I don't agree. They know what they need and an extra few weeks of feeding can make all the difference. As to weight, he is a baby and been through a lot. Also he is growing, moving about etc. You say he is eating some fruit. That is great. Give him more time. Offer fruit/veg in between feeds when he indicates he is hungry to see if he will give it a try.

You could try finely sieving a thumbnail of steamed pumpkin, (no lumps) to mix with some baby food and offering just a spoonful of that mixture once a day to start as an example. Make it fresh each time. Then his baby food as normal for the rest of the day. Then include an easy to digest fruit pulp/baby mash mix at some point. Again offering as many adult foods to play with is important. Give it another week but definitely add new things, often. Oh, is he defecating normally? Keep an eye on it. Too runny, not often are signs to look for.

@Miss Annamarie

Make sure to weigh your baby in the morning before breakfast after the first BM.
I never trust bird brokers like JC- I just enjoy the one on one with a breeder that I can trust and have legal backing if something goes wrong (Im definately not a type for forgiveness when people are knowingly irresponsible). I would put serious money on his age (ill get some photos together to prove it to you from my network, telling ekkies age when young is actually pretty easy- might be worth posting as a sticky section).

Keep up what you are doing, but watch the weight. Offer as much variety as possible, as often as possible :)
Yes! His main favourite fruit is mangos and blueberries! Thank you for the reassurance, my anxiety was zooming.
 

Miss Annamarie

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He's been super happy today, I went to the bathroom before saying hi to him and he flew into the bathroom! (We could also use the term crashed (; ) He wanted me to handfeed him twice so far today, I'm guessing he'll have my dad feed him another 2 times while I'm at work. I'll ask him when I get home.
 

Les charlson

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He's been super happy today, I went to the bathroom before saying hi to him and he flew into the bathroom! (We could also use the term crashed (; ) He wanted me to handfeed him twice so far today, I'm guessing he'll have my dad feed him another 2 times while I'm at work. I'll ask him when I get home.
Wonderful news. He has you worked out. The landing are not always graceful are they. :)
 

Miss Annamarie

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Today I picked up a 7am-9am to help get the kids ready for school because one of my coworker's grandpa is dying so he couldn't come in. I usually wake up and feed Basil at around 9:30/10:00 so it worked out pretty well. He usually weighs about 287g after breakfast but HE WAS 305!! He's finally gaining!!! As soon as he was like "Dude I'm full stop trying to feed me more" he just flew back and played with his toys on the play station!
 

Miss Annamarie

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Basil has been play biting a lot and I know it could lead to more. I've bern just giving him a foot toy everytime he goes for my fingers. Does anyone else have any recommendations?
 
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